Former UW-Oshkosh Chancellor Richard Wells and former Vice Chancellor Thomas Sonnleitner leave a conference room with their attorneys Monday, June 11, 2018, at the Winnebago County Courthouse. They appeared before Court Commissioner Bryan Keberlein for an initial appearance. Joe Sienkiewicz/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Attorney Ray Dall'Osto talks to the media Monday, June 11, 2018, after the initial appearances of former UW-Oshkosh Chancellor Richard Wells and former Vice Chancellor Thomas Sonnleitner. They appeared before Court Commissioner Bryan Keberlein for an initial appearance. Joe Sienkiewicz/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

OSHKOSH - Criminal cases against two former University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh executives accused of illegally using public funds for foundation projects will continue.

Former Chancellor Richard Wells and former Vice Chancellor Thomas Sonnleitner appeared Monday in Winnebago County Circuit Court, where they each face five felony counts of misconduct in a public office.

Court Commissioner Bryan Keberlein set $10,000 signature bonds for both former administrators, who waived their rights to preliminary hearings and pleaded not guilty.

The defense will now start getting documents that show the prosecutor's case, Wells' Milwaukee-based attorney Ray Dall'Osto said. He expects the number of documents to be "in the six figures."

Dall’Osto and Sonnleitner's attorney, Steven Biskupic, also filed a joint motion to dismiss the case, arguing it violates Wells' and Sonnleitner’s right to due process because the misconduct in office statute is vague and ambiguous. Neither administrator personally benefited from their actions, and the complaint doesn't show knew they were acting beyond their authority or breaking any laws, Dall'Osto said.

If convicted on all charges, Wells and Sonnleitner each could face as much as 17 ½ years in prison.

“It would be personally crushing after a life experience of devotion to the university and particularly to Oshkosh campus, so this has been very painful for them,” Dall’Osto said.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice filed the charges in late April in response to the UW System's unprecedented request that the DOJ pursue both civil and criminal charges against the former administrators.

"The Board took this unprecedented action because Dr. Wells and Mr. Sonnleitner failed to follow rules and statutes that govern university operations, and we are working diligently to rebuild confidence in our institutions and to improve the transparency of foundation transactions," Regents Audit Committee Chairman Michael Grebe said in a statement in April.

The criminal complaint against Wells and Sonnleitner focuses on five "illegal loan guarantees" the administrators made to the foundation's lenders for projects. The properties include the Oshkosh Premier Waterfront Hotel and Convention Center, the Rosendale and Witzel biodigesters (which convert animal waste into energy), the Alumni Welcome and Conference Center and the Oshkosh Sports Complex.

The complaint accuses Wells and Sonnleitner knowingly signed "comfort letters" to banks promising UWO would cover the private foundation's payments if they defaulted on their loans.

Wells and Sonnleitner have argued the letters are not legally binding.

The civil complaint, which the UW System field against the two about a year ago, alleges they transferred $11 million to the foundation to support the same five building projects the "comfort letters" were for.

Karen Herzog of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Nathaniel Shuda of the Oshkosh Northwestern contributed to this report.

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Former Chancellor Richard Wells and former Vice Chancellor Thomas Sonnleitner will appear in court in early June.
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The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Alumni Welcome and Conference Center has a 500 person ballroom, a 36-person executive board room and several 40-person breakout rooms as well as state-of-the-art technology throughout the building. Joe Sienkiewicz/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

An electricity-
generating project powered by cow manure is one of the investments that is the subject of a lawsuit against two former officials of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. A biodigester system at the Rosendale Dairy in Fond du Lac County was funded by the foundation. Joe Sienkiewicz / USA TODAY NETW, Joe Sienkiewicz / USA TODAY NETW

A biodigester at Rosendale Dairy - the state's largest dairy farm near Pickett - is one of the projects the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Foundation facilitated and gifted to the university. Submitted

Former UW-Oshkosh Chancellor Richard Wells and Tom Sonnleitner, former vice chancellor of administrative services, are accused of authorizing transfers and improperly funding capital projects between 2010 and 2016, including $806,000 for the Oshkosh Sports Complex, which includes Alumni Stadium and Titan Stadium, according to a civil complaint. Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Former UW-Oshkosh Chancellor Richard Wells and Tom Sonnleitner, former vice chancellor of administrative services, are accused of authorizing multiple transfers and improperly funding capital projects between 2010 and 2016, including $806,000 for the Oshkosh Sports Complex, which includes Alumni Stadium and Titan Stadium, according to a civil complaint. Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Tom Lechnir, longtime baseball coach at UW-Oshkosh, lost his job in 2013 after questioning why the university quietly diverted donations earmarked for a new baseball stadium to the $10.5 million Oshkosh Sports Complex. Danny Damiani / USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin